Chapter Summaries

Shen Yangge awoke in a coffin after transmigrating into the body of a young man who had died after offending the crown prince. Bound to the 615 Death-Seeking System, he learned that dying in a way consistent with the plot could return him to his original world.

• Shen Yangge pushed open his coffin lid and frightened the mourners who had gathered to bury him.
• He recognized that he had transmigrated and heard the 615 Death-Seeking System assign him the main quest, “Death Is Rebirth.”
• Shen Yangge scared the girl who had ordered the servants to force him back into the coffin, then fainted when a tearful woman rushed to embrace him.
• Doctor Liu told the woman that Shen Yangge was weak but would recover, and she urged him to confide in her if anything troubled him.
• Shen Yangge learned that the original owner had died after his father punished him for offending the crown prince, and recognized the story as the novel Century of Prosperity.

Shen Yangge learned that he could return to his original world if he died a normal death before Chu Xuanzhen became emperor, but he could not deliberately seek death or kill himself. When a messenger from the crown prince arrived, Shen Yangge tried to act gravely ill, and the chapter ended with the eunuch bending down to help him up.

• Shen Yangge heard System 615 explain that he had to stay in character as an arrogant but death-fearing man and die through punishment or execution to return home.
• After recovering enough to leave his room, Shen Yangge learned that his father had returned with a visitor sent by Chu Xuanzhen.
• Shen Yangge tried to appear too weak to meet the visitor, but servants carried him to the main hall.
• The eunuch said Chu Xuanzhen had sent medicine and urged Shen Yangge to learn from his punishment.
• Shen Yangge threw himself onto the floor, and the eunuch, surprised by his appearance, bent down to help him up.

Shen Yangge survived his encounter with the crown prince’s eunuch and was invited to the empress’s birthday banquet, where he expected another attempt on his life. When the crown prince looked his way, Shen Yangge’s body turned away in fear despite his own confusion.

• Shen Yangge refused the medicine, staged a collapse, and watched the eunuch leave without giving it to him.
• Shen Zhi scolded Shen Yangge but left after receiving news of urgent business.
• The crown prince ordered Shen Yangge invited to the empress’s birthday banquet, despite the eunuch’s warning that he might not survive the night.
• Two days later, Shen Yangge went to the palace banquet and found himself seated alone without food or tea.
• The crown prince glanced at Shen Yangge, and Shen Yangge’s body abruptly turned away from him.

At the palace banquet, Shen Yangge answered the emperor’s questions and was assigned to serve as the crown prince’s chronicler. After returning to his seat, he spoke with a curious young man and watched the dancers begin their performance.

• The empress drew attention to Shen Yangge, and he bowed to her while concealing his insults in his thoughts.
• Consort Shen defended Shen Yangge, and the emperor asked whether his insults against the crown prince had been unintentional.
• System 615 warned Shen Yangge that deliberately getting himself killed would bring painful punishment, so he told the emperor the offense had not been intentional.
• The emperor appointed Shen Yangge as the crown prince’s chronicler, and the crown prince said he could start the next day.
• A young man spilled tea on Shen Yangge’s sleeve, asked if he was the person who had crawled out of a coffin, and was distracted when the dancers arrived.

At the empress’s birthday banquet, the crown prince presented her with a golden coffin and forced Shen Yangge to test it by lying inside. Shen Yangge stumbled back into the coffin and pulled the crown prince down with him, leaving them face-to-face.

• The emperor ordered the people who brought the coffin taken away, but the empress asked him to wait until the truth was known.
• The crown prince revealed the coffin was his birthday gift to the empress and asked Shen Yangge to test it with him.
• Shen Yangge approached the coffin and climbed inside after the crown prince helped slide its heavy lid open.
• When the crown prince told him to get up, Shen Yangge scrambled up and accidentally grabbed the prince’s hand.
• Shen Yangge became dizzy, fell back into the coffin, and dragged the crown prince down with him.

Shen Yangge survived the banquet after the Crown Prince pulled him from the coffin, despite his hopes of being executed. He returned to the Shen Residence with Xue Qian’s help and learned he had been appointed to serve in the Crown Prince’s hall, while Shen Zhi was furious about the outcome.

• The Crown Prince withdrew from the coffin and rescued Shen Yangge, then persuaded the Emperor and Empress to let the servants carry the coffin away without punishment.
• The Emperor and Empress dismissed the banquet guests, and Shen Yangge left the palace alive, wondering why the Crown Prince had not killed or maimed him.
• Xue Qian introduced himself, questioned Shen Yangge about insulting the Crown Prince, and offered him a ride home when his servants had abandoned him.
• Shen Yangge returned to the Shen Residence, where the servants fled from him as if he were a ghost.
• Shen Zhi learned that Shen Yangge had been granted a drafting post and ordered to report to the Crown Prince’s hall, while Shen Zhi himself remained suspended for a month.

Shen Yangge went to serve the crown prince, hoping to provoke him into having him executed, but the crown prince abruptly stopped his servants from beating him. The chapter ended with Shen Yangge still kneeling, confused by the reprieve.

• Shen Zhi punished Shen Yangge by making him spend the night kneeling in the ancestral hall, and Madam Shen secretly gave him two steamed buns the next morning.
• Shen Yangge followed a palace servant to the Eastern Palace and introduced himself to the crown prince as Shen Yangge.
• The crown prince ordered his guards to drag Shen Yangge out and beat him, while Shen Yangge eagerly pleaded for a fair judgment.
• The crown prince questioned how Shen Yangge could be different on the outside and within, then accused him of insulting him and being useless.
• The crown prince suddenly ordered the servants to withdraw, leaving Shen Yangge kneeling and bewildered.

Shen Yangge was ordered by the crown prince to cut him, but when he finally tried to obey, a hidden guard stopped him. Injured and dizzy, Shen Yangge collapsed toward the crown prince.

• The crown prince gave Shen Yangge a jeweled dagger and ordered him to cut him.
• Shen Yangge refused, fearing the consequences of harming the future sovereign, while the crown prince threatened him with torture.
• The crown prince pressed the dagger against Shen Yangge’s chin and cut him, then demanded that he obey.
• Shen Yangge seized the dagger and tried to slash the crown prince’s arm.
• A hidden guard pinned Shen Yangge, causing him to drop the dagger, cough up blood, and collapse toward the crown prince.

After Shen Yangge woke from an hour and a half of unconsciousness, he found the hall wrecked and the crown prince in a violent frenzy. The crown prince bit Shen Yangge, then ordered him to return the next day and pressed a handkerchief against his bleeding neck.

• The crown prince refused to let the guards remove Shen Yangge and summoned Physician Liu after seeing blood on the floor.
• Shen Yangge woke to find the hall in ruins and learned from System 615 that the crown prince had spent an hour in a frenzy.
• The crown prince approached Shen Yangge and bit his neck while holding him in place.
• The crown prince shoved Shen Yangge into broken pottery, then pulled him up and removed shards from his wounds.
• The crown prince told Shen Yangge to return the next day and pressed a handkerchief against his bleeding neck.

Shen Yangge narrowly avoided being abducted by servants in the Eastern Palace by asking the crown prince for permission to stay overnight. The crown prince granted his request and insisted he sleep beside him, leaving Shen Yangge desperately trying to refuse.

• After leaving the crown prince's hall, Shen Yangge was directed toward a palanquin but grew suspicious of the servants escorting him.
• Shen Yangge realized the servants intended to seize him and shouted for permission to stay overnight in the Eastern Palace.
• The crown prince appeared and granted Shen Yangge's request, causing the servants to release him and withdraw.
• The crown prince ordered a reclining chair placed beside his bed and suggested Shen Yangge stay in his bedchamber to discuss profound learning.
• Shen Yangge vehemently refused to share the crown prince's room while inwardly dreading spending the night with him.

Shen Yangge tried to avoid sharing the crown prince’s bed, but the crown prince insisted that he stay in the bedchamber with him. The chapter ended with the crown prince ordering Shen Yangge onto the bed while Shen Yangge nervously stalled.

• The crown prince told Shen Yangge that sharing a bed was acceptable and ordered a meal for them.
• When someone poisoned the crown prince’s food, the crown prince stabbed the attending palace maid to death without questioning her.
• That night, Shen Yangge tried to leave rather than enter the crown prince’s bedchamber, but a secret guard dragged him back inside.
• The crown prince offered Shen Yangge the inner side of the bed after Shen Yangge claimed he could only sleep in his own bed.
• The crown prince asked whether Shen Yangge feared him and ordered him onto the bed, while Shen Yangge claimed he was not sleepy.

Shen Yangge tried to stay awake beside the crown prince but fell asleep, and the two were attacked by assassins during the night. The crown prince killed both attackers and ordered Shen Yangge back onto the bed, leaving him hopeful that the prince’s murderous glare meant his execution was finally near.

• The crown prince warned Shen Yangge to sleep quietly, and Shen Yangge climbed into bed intending to stay awake but fell asleep after an hour.
• Shen Yangge woke as assassins attacked, and the crown prince pulled him out of the way while fighting them off.
• The assassins mistook Shen Yangge for the crown prince’s lover and targeted him, but the crown prince used Shen Yangge as part of his trap and killed both attackers.
• The crown prince summoned servants to clean the bedchamber and told Shen Yangge to come back onto the bed.
• Shen Yangge saw the crown prince give him a sinister look and excitedly assumed the prince was finally about to kill him.

Shen Yangge survived another night beside the crown prince and began recording his words and actions, discovering that the prince’s behavior was increasingly strange. The chapter ended with the crown prince permitting him to relieve himself in front of him.

• The crown prince asked Shen Yangge what should be done for someone who wished to die, and Shen Yangge advised finding out why before granting the wish.
• Shen Yangge stayed awake until morning, then followed the crown prince to breakfast and suspected the palace maid Green Willow was one of the prince’s favored women.
• Green Willow struck Shen Yangge’s chopsticks away, but the crown prince ordered her to leave and took the piece of meat Shen Yangge had reached for.
• The crown prince brought Shen Yangge to the study and ordered him to record everything he said and did.
• When Shen Yangge asked to leave to relieve himself, the crown prince told him he could do it in front of him.

Shen Yangge got lost after leaving the main hall and returned to find the crown prince waiting for him. The crown prince warned him not to speak at length with others and threatened to cut off his organs and ears, leaving Shen Yangge terrified of his possessiveness.

• Shen Yangge left the main hall to find the privy, then got lost when the maid who guided him disappeared.
• Shen Yangge wandered through the palace for nearly an hour before asking people for directions back to the main hall.
• A eunuch told Shen Yangge that the crown prince had been looking for him, and Shen Yangge returned to the hall.
• The crown prince beckoned Shen Yangge over, lifted his chin, and asked what he had been thinking.
• The crown prince warned Shen Yangge not to speak at length with anyone else and threatened to cut off his organs or their ears.

After leaving the Eastern Palace, Shen Yangge returned to the Shen Residence and faced his father’s probing questions. Before dawn, two maids tried to kill him on Third Miss’s orders, but he frightened them and was found bruised by Madam Shen.

• The Crown Prince let Shen Yangge leave the Eastern Palace and had him escorted to the palace gates, where Shen Residence servants were waiting.
• Shen Zhi questioned Shen Yangge about what he had learned while serving the Crown Prince, but Shen Yangge claimed he had only learned to write.
• Two maids entered Shen Yangge’s room with daggers, saying Third Miss had ordered them to kill him that night.
• Shen Yangge emerged from beside the wardrobe disguised with dust on his face and frightened the maids into screaming.
• Madam Shen found Shen Yangge bruised and asked what had happened, and he said he had accidentally been bitten by a dog.

Shen Yangge confronted two maids who had entered his room to kill him and questioned Shen Susu after she arrived and tried to defend them. He accused Shen Susu of being involved in drugging him and called down someone hiding on the beam.

• Madam Shen worried over Shen Yangge's supposed dog bite, and he reassured her that palace physicians had examined him.
• Shen Yangge exposed two maids carrying sharp weapons and challenged their claim that they had acted alone.
• Shen Susu entered and pleaded for mercy for the maids, while her attendant repeatedly answered for her.
• Shen Yangge rebuked Shen Susu's attendant for interrupting and warned that he would send her away.
• Shen Yangge accused Shen Susu of helping put incense in his room and called for someone hiding on the beam to come down.

After Shen Yangge's personal guard identified Shen Susu as the one who planted incense in his room, Shen Yangge confronted the Shen family over their excuses and declared he would leave with Madam Shen and sever ties with the residence. The chapter ended with the family conflict still unresolved.

• The Crown Prince's death-sworn guard accused Shen Susu of planting the incense, and Madam Shen left to question her maids.
• Shen Yangge asked the guard whether the Crown Prince had ordered him to cut off people's ears, and the guard said he wanted to live longer.
• Shen Yangge slapped Little Six for taking his seat and disrespecting him, while the boy's mother protested.
• Shen Zhi claimed that Shen Susu was innocent and that her servants had drugged Shen Yangge, but Madam Shen challenged his account.
• Shen Yangge told Madam Shen he would return to her family with her and sever ties with the Shen Residence.

Shen Yangge left the Shen Residence with Madam Shen after confronting Shen Zhi, then bought a house for them in the capital. Just as he settled in, the crown prince summoned him to the palace despite his approved leave.

• Shen Yangge demanded that Shen Zhi remove him from the family register, and Shen Zhi ordered him and Madam Shen to leave the Shen Residence.
• Shen Yangge reassured Madam Shen that he would support her, and they left with their belongings and household servants.
• Shen Yangge lodged Madam Shen at an inn, then bought a spacious courtyard house using the emperor's reward and part of her dowry.
• Shen Yangge rested at home until a man in black informed him that the crown prince had summoned him to the palace.
• Shen Yangge hired a carriage and asked the man in black whether he could give him orders as his personal guard; the man confirmed he could.

Shen Yangge went to the Eastern Palace and found the crown prince focused on the bite wound hidden beneath his collar. The crown prince handled him closely and, after releasing his neck, seized his hand to inspect his injury.

• Shen Yangge paid his respects to the crown prince at the Eastern Palace, inwardly wondering why he had been summoned so late.
• The crown prince yanked aside Shen Yangge’s collar and caught him by the neck when he tried to recoil.
• Shen Yangge claimed he respected and admired the crown prince while privately cursing him.
• The crown prince rubbed Shen Yangge’s neck, tightened his grip, and reminded him that he had granted him a day’s leave.
• The crown prince released Shen Yangge’s neck, took his hand, and asked whether his injury had healed before lifting his sleeve to inspect his wrist.

The crown prince summoned Physician Liu to examine Shen Yangge’s bruised and scratched wrist, showing unusual concern for the minor official. Physician Liu found Shen Yangge’s body unusually frail and prescribed medicine, while the crown prince arranged for it to be prepared.

• The crown prince noticed Shen Yangge’s injuries and called Green Willow to summon Physician Liu.
• The crown prince rebuked Green Willow for speaking to him out of turn, then pulled Shen Yangge beside him and asked where else he was hurt.
• Physician Liu arrived and learned that the crown prince had called him to treat Shen Yangge rather than himself.
• Physician Liu examined Shen Yangge, found deficient qi and blood and a sensitive constitution, and warned him to avoid further injuries.
• The crown prince asked whether Shen Yangge could be cured, and Physician Liu prescribed medicine for Little Bamboo Shoot to prepare.